Maryland sues DHS to stop 'massive' immigration detention facility

DHS paid more than $100 million for a commercial warehouse near the town of Williamsport, Maryland, in January as part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to expand detention facility

By Jimmy Jenkins

 

The state of Maryland is suing to stop the Department of Homeland Security from turning a warehouse into an immigration detention facility.

 

DHS paid more than $100 million for a commercial warehouse near the town of Williamsport, Maryland, in January as part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to dramatically expand its detention capacity. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could potentially use as many as two dozen such sites across the country as “mega centers” for detaining immigrants.

 

According to a lawsuit filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the Williamsport facility is to be outfitted with 1,500 beds.

 

 

“Defendants have run roughshod over federal law and trampled on the state’s interests,” in their pursuit of the project, Brown wrote.

 

A DHS spokesperson said the facilities would be “very well-structured” and built to the agency’s detention standards.

 

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the spokesperson said. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the US and is actively working to expand detention space.”

 

Brown accused the government of violating federal law by failing to prepare an environmental impact statement for the project, and for not considering alternatives. Construction could negatively impact local waterways and wildlife, Brown said, and the facility could overwhelm sewer lines once fully operational.

 

The site could also lead to traffic congestion, increased burdens on law enforcement and emergency services, Brown said. The attorney general also pointed to the risk of disease outbreaks and sanitation concerns based on reported conditions in other ICE facilities.

 

Maryland is asking a federal judge to vacate the purchase of the warehouse and declare the agencies’ actions unlawful. Brown seeks a court order halting any construction or conversion of the facility already taking place.

 

Lawmakers from Arizona are pushing back on similar plans for an ICE warehouse conversion west of Phoenix. In a post on the social media platform X, Representative Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said the acquisition of the building in Surprise, Arizona, did not go through the normal procurement process involving the Government Services Administration.

 

“They didn’t tell anyone they were doing this,” Stanton said, “and they paid cash money for this facility.”

 

The case is Maryland v. Noem, 26-cv-00733, US District Court, Maryland.